On December 6, 1860, the people of South Carolina voted for delegates
to a convention whose decision was a foregone conclusion. "The only
questions," one observer wrote, "are when shall she secede, and
what she shall then do." The convention assembled in Charleston
on December 18, the committee of 169 voted unanimously for secession
from the United States. Within minutes of its passage the ordinance
appeared as a Charleston Mercury extra edition.